The 'Arty' Season

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Posted: 25.Nov.2014

East Village, the former Athletes’ Village from London 2012 has proved that its cultural assets go beyond just sport, by installing three eye-catching and impressive public art installations in the neighbourhood.

In the lead up to the festive season, the community will welcome a forest of enchanting ‘Frozen Trees’ from Portuguese designers LIKE Architects, which will provide the perfect complement for two other artworks already at East Village – Nathan Coley’s large-scale light installation, ‘A Place Beyond Belief’ and two bus sculptures to celebrate TFL’s Year of the Bus.

On Sunday 30th November the East Village community will be getting into the festive spirit as a forest of 14 giant ‘Frozen Trees’ is planted in the southern end of Victory Park. Portuguese designers, LIKE Architects have used 1,296 reusable and highly recyclable IKEA plastic bag dispensers to create the art installation, making a creative argument for the importance of multi-purposing. The trees will be illuminated from early morning to late evening and will light up the neighbourhood on dark and wintry nights.

Antonio Pedro Araújo from LIKE Architects commented: “The Frozen Trees Christmas lighting installation is slightly unusual in that it has been built using plastic bag dispensers. By bringing these domestic objects into the urban scale we’re encouraging creativity and demonstrating the multi-functionality of daily objects. By putting a twist on the usual invisibility of Christmas lights during the day, this artwork hopes to delight and inspire East Village residents.”

Neil Young, CEO of Get Living London added: “It’s great to be able to welcome this unique Christmas installation to East Village for the festive period. The Frozen Trees will be a cheerful and charming addition to the neighbourhood, even on the dullest of days.”

The artwork is joining two other impressive pieces at East Village: Nathan Coley’s ‘A Place Beyond Belief’ and two elaborate bus sculptures that have been created for TFL’s Year of the Bus sculpture trail across London. The first is a large-scale sculpture illuminating the testimony of a young woman made in New York in the wake of 9/11. This will be present at East Village until March 2015, allowing residents and visitors alike to be inspired and touched by its moving message.

The two bus sculptures are part of a London-wide bus trail, 11 of which are in Queen Elizabeth Park. The public can follow the route on foot, giving visitors a chance to enjoy the wealth of open space and greenery in the area. The buses also serve as a reminder of the fantastic transport links at East Village.

The arrival of the three artworks is part of an ongoing programme at East Village to bring accessible artworks into the neighbourhood for locals to enjoy. These temporary installations are beneficial both for the community, by celebrating the distinctive character of East Village, and also for the artists, by giving them the opportunity to bring their work to new audiences.